


What's in a Name?

by orphan_account



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2020-01-01 04:24:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18328562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The running joke around the locker room was that Braden was eventually going to go "full beast", so when the media finds out there’s a werewolf on the team, all eyes instantly turned to him.The thing is, Braden’s completely human.John, on the other hand, is not.





	What's in a Name?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AetherSeer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AetherSeer/gifts).
  * Inspired by [A Rose by Any Other Name ...](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16123466) by [AetherSeer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AetherSeer/pseuds/AetherSeer). 



> this work is a part of the "Kamikaze Hockey Remix 2019", and is an alternate take on AetherSeer's original work! if you haven't already, i really suggest going to read their's first!
> 
> enjoy!

_What's in a name? That which we call a rose_

_By any other word would smell as sweet_

 

 

 

 

> **Insider confirms Caps have a werewolf in their midst**
> 
> By Sam Ricardo, Washington Daily
> 
> The news is out: The Washington Capitals have an undeclared lycanthrope in the locker room. While the NHL does not mandate full disclosure, it is considered common courtesy for lycans to inform their team owners, coaches, teammates and fans about the ‘nature of the beast,’ so to speak, in order for the rules and regulations to be fairly applied …

 

John listened as the coach gave his speech, being sure not to look too suspicious, he had a feeling this speech was coming ever since he read the article this morning. “I don’t know which of you is lycan and I frankly don’t care.” John snorted; _you say that now_. Maybe he wouldn’t do anything, but the media - the city - would have his head. There had been plenty of other lycans to come out in the league, but none here. Washington was different, in more ways than one; the fans were loud and the rivalries intense. Not only would he be judged by this city, but every other one that had an inkling of hate for his team. “Okay, guys. Get out on the ice,” he snapped back into reality as Trotz gave his orders to the group.

 

To his surprise, the media wanted little to do with him during practice; they all seemed to be laser focused on Braden.

 

He was fine with that.

* * *

“Who do you think it is?” John listened to the rookies whisper loudly as the rest of the group filed into the locker room after practice.

“My money’s on Holtby,” one laughed, “I mean, he sure looks the part.”  
“And everyone’s always talking about him going _full beast_.”

“What about Ovi, though? I mean, look at him.” They all laughed. John’s eyes darted to Alex, who was getting out of his gear. _Pft, yeah sure, guys. He looks nothing like a lycan._

“There’s _no way_ , dude. If Ovi was a werewolf he would have told the press a _loooonnngggg_ time ago.”

“True, guy couldn’t keep his mouth shut if his life depended on it.”

John quickly finished packing his things and headed to the door, flashing a small smile to some journalists before quietly slipping out of the room. He knew there was nothing wrong with being lycan, but _fuck_ what he would have given not to be. _The league says their fine with it, but if they really were why is the media making such a huge deal about there being one in Washington?_ There was already so much stress surrounding him and the team, on top of their playoff push this was the last thing he needed.

* * *

After another week of media chatter, mostly centered around Braden, John couldn’t take it anymore. They were in the middle of playoffs, _why were people still talking about this? Can’t they just focus on the game?_ Watching reporters badger him basically twenty-four-seven about being lycan was hell, it couldn’t have been fun for him either. John decided the best thing to do was to invite him for drinks, to _try_ and explain the situation.

 

>>holtby: hey, do you want to grab a drink tonight?

<<holtby: yeah, sure.

>>holtby: cool, meet you there at 7?

<<holtby: sounds like a plan

 

A couple of hours, a regular conversation, and a few beers later, he had finally worked up the nerve to say something.

“Listen,” John said suddenly after letting the conversation die down. “About the lycan thing-”

“I get that everyone is supportive and happy to have one on the team, but it’s not me.” Braden cut him off. “Not to stop you or anything, I’m just tired of hearing about it,” he sighed.

“Yeah, obviously,” John couldn’t help but laugh. “People think it’s you?” He knew the answer, but he was trying to lighten the mood.

“Yep,” Braden said, unamused. “The press has been hounding me for weeks about it. I keep telling them it’s not me, but they don’t want to listen.”

“Well, uh,” John stuttered, “It’s me.” He felt Braden’s eyes look him over, his expression dropped. “I didn’t want people to find out this way- It doesn’t give me an advantage or anything.”  The silence that followed was excruciating. His face said he was thinking- _god, please say something._

“I bet the room smells like shit to you, _huh_ ?” It took him a second to process what Brendan had said. _No surprise? No questions?_

“You have _no_ idea,” John laughed, allowing himself to relax back into his chair. “If I would have known how bad gear smells after it’s been used for a couple weeks, I probably wouldn’t have played.” Brendan laughed, finishing his beer.

“Everyone’s been really supportive, I’m sure they’ll be the same towards you,” he said with a smile.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I mean, half of the fucking team invited me somewhere just to tell me they didn’t have a problem with lycans and that they were happy I was on the team.” John couldn’t help but smile. “They might have had the wrong person, but the sentiment will be the same, for sure.”

“Good,” John trailed off.

* * *

 

 

> **Capitals win cup, lycan revealed**
> 
> By Sam Ricardo, Washington Daily
> 
> As John Carlson lifted the Stanley Cup over his head, he had more on his mind than Washington’s 4-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. During his post-game interview, Carlson let the cat out of the bag- or should I say wolf? “You know, we really owe it to the fans and the organization’s staff, they’ve been amazing. They’ve supported me so much with the whole lycan thing-” Carlson stopped himself, but it was too late to take anything back. When asked to repeat himself Carlson had this to say “Yeah, it’s me. I didn’t really want to make a big deal of it, since we were in the middle of playoffs when the news came out to begin with- didn’t want to take away from the team or distract anyone, you know?”....
> 
>  

_Of course he let it slip, of course it had to be during the cup celebration._ But, to his surprise, no one seemed to care. After that interview came out, he didn’t hear another word about it. Everyone seemed to be too busy talking about the cup win to care about whether or not he was a lycan.

 

He was fine with that.

**Author's Note:**

> i don't know much about these guys, so i hope i was able to do justice to the original fic!


End file.
